Shelf for window sill



Dec. 27,, 1960 w. J. M cKENZIE 2,966,272 I SHELF FOR wmnow SILL FiledMarch 20. 1959 INVENTOR.

William J. MocKenzie BY MW ATTORNEYS United States Patent O SHELF FORwiNnow SILL William J. MacKenzie, 106 Gordon Ave., Hyde Park, Mass.

Filed Mar. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 800,887

1 Claim. (Cl. 211-90) This invention relates to a shelf adapted to bemounted on a window sill to hold a potted plant or other articles. It isan object of the invention to provide a shelf for this purpose which issimple in structure, low in cost, and easy to mount upon or detach froma window sill.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be hadto the following description thereof and to the drawing, of which Figure1 is a side elevational view of a shelf embodying the invention mountedon a Window sill which is shown in section;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the shelf illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 1, but of a modifiedform of the invention; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the shelf shown in Figure 3, but on asmaller scale.

The shelf illustrated in Figure 2 preferably consists of a single pieceof sheet metal cut and bent to desired shape. The shelf comprises a bodyconsisting of a plane sheet having a straight edge 12 as a part of itscontour. Along the remainder of its contour is an upstanding flange 14which is integral with the sheet 10 and serves to stiffen the shelfmaterially. If, for example, the shelf has a length of nine inches or soand a width of seven inches, the flange is at least one-quarter inch inheight. The forward end 16 of the shelf illustrated on the drawing isarcuate but can be made with any other desired contour.

When the shelf is in position for use, the rear portion thereof rests ona window sill 18 while the forward portion projects out in front of thesill. The straight edge 12 at the rear of the shelf is flush with theouter edge of the sill and is provided with two or more ears 20 whichproject downward therefrom and bear against the outer edge of the sill18. At the lower end of each car 20 are spurs or teeth 22 which are bentback toward the body of the shelf so that they penetrate into the outeredge of the sill to keep the shelf from falling off the sill.

It is evident that a small outward movement of the shelf will disengagethe teeth 22 from the sill. To prevent this, fingers 24 are struck fromthe body of the shelf and are bent downward to engage the under edge ofthe sill. Cuts can be made in the shelf to form additional fingers 26which can be bent down if required to bear against the inner edge of awider window sill.

Instead of fingers 24 or 26 to bear against the inner edge of the sill,additional ears or fingers 30 may be formed on the straight edge 12 ofthe shelf to extend down therefrom against the outer edge of the sill.The ears or fingers 30 are longer than the cars 20, each ear 30 beingprovided with an extension 32 adapted to engage on the bottom member 34of the window frame. Spurs or teeth 36 on the end of each extension 32are bent down to penetrate into the bottom member 34 of the frame tohold the shelf against outward movement when the sash 38 is raised.

To install a shelf of the kind described, the window sash 38 is raised,the shelf is placed on the sill with the spurs 22 touching the outeredge of the sill. The ears 20 are then struck with a suitable tool suchas a hammer to drive the spurs into the sill so that the cars 20 bearagainst the edge of the sill and the rear edge 12 of the shelf is flushwith the outer edge of the sill. Fingers 24 or 26 are then bent downfrom the body of the shelf to bear against the inner edge of the sill.

If a shelf like that shown in Figures 3 and 4 is to be installed, thespurs 22 are driven into the outer edge of the sill as described, thenthe extensions 32 of the fingers 30 are struck to drive the spurs 36into the bottom member 34 of the window frame.

I claim:

A shelf for a window sill comprising a plane metal sheet having astraight edge as a part of its contour, an upstanding flange extendingalong the remainder of said contour, a plurality of spaced earsprojecting down from said straight edge, said ears having serratedextremities bent back toward said sheet to penetrate into the outer edgeof a window sill, and a finger projecting down from said straight edge,said finger having an extension bent away from said sheet with aserrated extremity adapted to penetrate into the bottom member of awindow frame when the shelf is mounted on the sill thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS665,672 Downey Ian. 8, 1901 1,886,090 Geddes Nov. 1, 1932 1,914,617Rogers June 20, 1933 2,029,246 McCarroll Ian. 28, 1936 2,063,289 AlusasDec. 8, 1936 2,302,737 Bearden Nov. 24, 1942 2,678,135 Cavanaugh May 11,1954

